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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25113007">Merlin makes that wide-eyed blushing emoji face</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/seapotato/pseuds/seapotato'>seapotato</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Merlin (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Accidental Flirting, Folk Tales, Getting Together, M/M, No Spoilers, capable arthur, firelight aesthetic, frost goblin, merlin reading, textured soft, then very intentional flirting, zero angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:00:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,702</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25113007</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/seapotato/pseuds/seapotato</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Merlin.”</p><p>“Merlin!”</p><p>“Merlin!!”</p><p>He jolted awake and nearly hit a goblet off the table. It was dark. The fire in the hearth was burnt to embers. He'd fallen asleep in Arthur's chambers, at the table reading, because it was deep winter and Gaius's place was frigid. A blizzard raged outside that had made the window in Merlin's room rattle and anything wooden creak incessantly. </p><p>Arthur's room, however, was quiet and warm.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>337</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Merlin makes that wide-eyed blushing emoji face</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Do you spend hours spacing out thinking of Merlin's hair in the firelight, or are you unable to appreciate beauty?</p><p>[Written for the prompt "critical, lamp, disturbance"]</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>“<em>Merlin.”</em></p><p>“<em>Merlin!”</em></p><p>“<em>Merlin!!”</em></p><p>He jolted awake and nearly hit a goblet off the table. It was dark. The fire in the hearth was burnt to embers. He'd fallen asleep in Arthur's chambers, at the table reading, because it was deep winter and Gaius's place was frigid. A blizzard raged outside that had made the window in Merlin's room rattle and anything wooden creak incessantly.</p><p>Arthur's room, however, was quiet and warm. The stones were all blanketed in thick carpets or tapestries, Arthur's windows double-glazed and secure. Merlin didn't plan on falling asleep—he figured he would get Arthur settled, close the thick curtains around the bed, loudly walk to the door to open and close it, then creep back to the table across the room. He'd worked out how to cast a soft light from his fingertips so that he could read at night, tracing his finger along the lines of text and outlining the curves of drawings. He would read just for another hour or two then creep back to his small, freezing, blizzard-loud room with no one the wiser. But the fire had been so warm, and having Arthur close put his mind so at ease that he must have fallen asleep.</p><p>“Um,” he said, rapidly trying to think of a reason as to why he was still here. It must be nearly three in the morning.</p><p>“What are you doing here?” Arthur hissed. He was half up in bed, bundled in one of the many duvets with one hand holding it closed like a cloak and the other gripping the edge of the curtain. He looked like a ridiculous pastry, or a caterpillar. Merlin could see the outline of him, could just barely make out the details in the low glow from the fire and the moonlight bouncing off the snow outside. The blizzard had stopped.</p><p>“I, uh, was worried the fire would go out. Didn't want you to get cold,” Merlin said.</p><p>Merlin couldn't see it but he could practically hear Arthur narrow his eyes at him. “You fell asleep reading. You've been here the whole time.” Arthur said flatly.</p><p>“No! I mean, yes, I was, but that was just while I was feeding the fire. I didn't want to sit here doing nothing. And you're welcome, by the way.”</p><p>Arthur snorted, not believing him for a second, and Merlin saw the blocky shape of him flop backwards onto the bed. “For what? There's barely anything but ashes in there and the room's gone cold.”</p><p>Merlin rolled his eyes and tossed a few logs onto the coals. He lit them without a word, more of a nudge with his magic, really, to encourage the wood to catch.</p><p>Arthur burrowed back into the bed, grumbling, already drifting off again. Merlin stretched, whined against the tightness of his muscles, the awful stiffness that only happened when it was so cold during the day that every movement was taut and difficult.</p><p>Arthur rolled over, sighed noisily, and said, “Just, sleep on the rug or something. You already know there's spare blankets in the chest, don't be stupid. Then you won't knock anything off the table at least. And put the lamp out, I'm leaving the curtain open for now.”</p><p>Merlin had only been half paying attention, his mind a bit stuck on Arthur offering (sort of) to let him sleep in his room, but the last part of what Arthur said caught his attention.</p><p>“The lamps are all out,” Merlin said, digging through the chest for a few blankets. It really was cold in here now, but the renewed fire should help. The hearthstones would be warm. The blankets were moth eaten spares, so they were a bit ragged but passable. Better than nothing.</p><p>“Fine, the candles or whatever you have on,” Arthur was annoyed but sleepily so, his face mashed into a pillow, the duvet still bundled up around him.</p><p>Merlin looked up at him from the foot of the bed. “I told you, everything's out. Just the fire. I can close the curtains if it's too bright.”</p><p>Arthur was quiet for a moment as Merlin wrapped the blankets around himself. The fire cast strange shadows and highlights in the room and Merlin could see Arthur shift, his sleep-messy hair caught dark golden in the light.</p><p>Arthur sat up slowly, the duvet falling away. While it was still dim, it was bright enough now that Merlin could see his expression: he was frowning, looking at a spot somewhere over Merlin's shoulder.</p><p>“Merlin, come here,” he said firmly. He sounded entirely awake now. Merlin shuffled around to the side of the bed, confused.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Be quiet and come closer.”</p><p>Merlin was right next to Arthur now and his pulse spiked. Arthur looked extremely focused, intense, but not at Merlin: at something behind him, across the room. Merlin leaned forward until Arthur grabbed at the front of his tunic and yanked him down then breathed into his ear, “There is something in the room. Don't make a sound.”</p><p>Merlin jerked back far enough to look at Arthur, his face only inches away. Was Arthur having him on? It didn't seem likely what with it being three in the morning and Arthur's body suddenly strung tight as a bow. Why hadn't Merlin noticed any kind of disturbance before? Now that Arthur had pointed it out he could feel the barest hint of magic coiled tight into an alcove across the room but he really had to reach for it. It was like whatever it was kept itself shielded behind something, muffled, but no, that wasn't quite right. Despite the fire the room was still startlingly cold. Whatever it was soaked up any warmth like a sponge then hid behind the cold. It wasn't emitting any magical shield—it was taking something in from the heat.</p><p>“It's freezing,” Merlin whispered, waiting to see if Arthur came to the same conclusion.</p><p>There was a bard overwintering at Camelot, a woman from the far north who delighted in songs of mischievous spirits and imps, some more dangerous than others. The night before she had sung of the frost goblins, creatures who stole all the warmth from a room and then, their hunger never satiated, all the heat and life from a body. They were spun from the howling winds of a blizzard, the ice-covered boulders, the sharp glint of moonlight on snow. It was supposed to be just a story, though, a warning of bad weather and a caution to not let a fire go out. Arthur gave him the slightest nod, his grip on Merlin's tunic still tight.</p><p>Merlin opened his mouth to ask if Arthur really thought it was such a thing when Arthur suddenly threw him half across the bed and pinned him there with one arm, his other hand throwing a dagger before Merlin could really process what was happening. From a dark alcove by the fireplace came an ungodly screech and an ear splitting crackling, like ice cracking on a thawing lake but magnified a hundredfold. Merlin could only see Arthur's face from where he was still pinned down by Arthur's stupidly strong forearm and the expression he made was some mixture of horror and curiosity.</p><p>It was over in a second. Heat flooded back into the room as Arthur thunked back heavily against the headboard, breathing quickly. Merlin rolled over onto his back, his legs dangling off the bed, sprawled over Arthur's thighs, his knees digging into Merlin's lower back.</p><p>“Wow,” he said, not able to articulate much else. His heart was still rabbiting, it had all happened so fast, and Arthur had—with the dagger—and Merlin felt—“Wow.”</p><p>Arthur was still staring across the room. “It melted,” he said, sounding a bit disgusted.</p><p>“I am not cleaning that up,” Merlin said as he tried to organize his thoughts.</p><p>Arthur sat up again so he could glare down at him. “Why aren't you more upset about this? There was a frost goblin or whatever <em>in the room</em>, probably <em>watching you sleep </em>for hours. You could have died if I hadn't woken up!”</p><p>Merlin chose not to address that question because his stupid brain was still replaying Arthur pulling him close, knocking him half onto the bed at the same moment he somehow had perfect aim and control to—“Where were you even keeping that dagger anyway?” he asked instead. He really hoped Arthur couldn't see how red his face was in the flickering firelight.</p><p>Arthur looked at him for a long moment and slowly raised his eyebrows. Merlin saw when Arthur started to put it all together because a lovely red flush crept up his neck which meant that Arthur could definitely see his own idiotic blush. “<em>Really?</em>”</p><p>Merlin covered his face with his hands, mortified, and said, muffled, “I don't know what you're talking about.”</p><p>Arthur jostled him a bit as he scooted around and Merlin felt him lean forward. “You know how many times I've saved your life? Bandits? Cenred's knights? Bayard's? Poison? And <em>now</em> you get all—because of <em>this</em>?”</p><p>“It's not my fault! You're actually hideous and no one would be impressed by what just happened. I'm just—tired!” Merlin said. He knew how weak it sounded, especially since he was still hiding behind his hands. Maybe he could slide off the bed and drown himself in the puddle of frost goblin.</p><p>Arthur tugged his hands down and sounded extraordinarily smug when he said, “How tired?”</p><p>Merlin stared at him, stunned. “No. You can't be serious.”</p><p>“You're...” Arthur looked him over slowly, from his messy hair with dancing shades of auburn and chestnut from the fire, to his flushed cheeks, his tunic askew, his hands flexing lightly with Arthur's grip on his forearms, “acceptable,” Arthur finished with a conceited air.</p><p>Merlin scowled and shoved back against Arthur's hands until he was sitting up, then kept shoving, pushing Arthur down on his back against the pillows. He clambered over him and said, “I'll show you acceptable.”</p><p>Arthur laughed lowly, already tugging Merlin down by his neckerchief, one sword-calloused hand slipping beneath the knot at the back. “Well I certainly hope you show me more than that.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It's not often we see Merlin being openly impressed by Arthur--sometimes he gets hyped up during a tournament, and he's confident in Arthur's abilities, but he's rarely impressed to Arthur's face (usually it's during a very solemn or serious 'we might die and i'm here for you' moment). So, I wanted to write something a little more playful where he is just like /surprise impressed blush/ (without, of course, giving up his sass)</p><p> </p><p>P.S. I'm a little behind on comments from the last fic, but I have read them all and cherish each and every one. I'm sorry that everyone had their own terrible horrible no good day but I'm also delighted that we could collectively cheer ourselves up with these two ridiculous boyz.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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